Hi All! Thought I'd chime in here. Please know that I get the arguments both for and not allowing any type of pricing discussions. I know for some that it's frustrating.
From time to time this topic will pop up. Most of you that have been here since we started in 2011 know that we simply branched off of the Acoustic Guitar Forum (AGF). They had the "no pricing" rule as well and we simply carried that over.
Pricing topics always seemed to blow up per se with members getting frustrated both at each other and with their local guitar dealers. For instance, a member would say "Hey I just got this wonderful Taylor 914 guitar for $5.00!" Then another member who just purchased the same guitar from a different dealer would be frustrated because their local dealer charged them $10.00 for a new 914.
When we got started, I had a number of Taylor dealers reach out to me regarding forums in general etc and one of their main asks was to also not allow pricing discussions.
We all for the most part LOVE our local dealers, and most of us would never want to see them close their doors etc. We decided early on that by not allowing pricing we would also eliminate pitting dealer vs dealer. To find the best price etc, would still be easy...just a phone call or email away, but financials would stay off the main pages here etc.
Over the years, I've had the occasional conversation with some of the wonderful folks at Taylor. When the topic of pricing came up they too asked that it not be allowed. Please keep in mind that even though we are not affiliated with Taylor etc, we still wanted to respect their wishes.
Taylor has been gracious enough to let our forum thrive and so the no pricing rule remains.
Pricing on pretty much anything else other than guitars is ok. If any of you have questions about pricing for other members or dealers here, please feel free to reach out via PM or email or phone.
I hope this helps clear the air etc. I know that hard topics like this should always be handled with grace, humility and kindness. I NEVER want to come across to anyone here as condescending or as a "well these are the forum rules, deal with it" type of guy.
I appreciate all of you, and you all have made this community a joy to be a part of.